Home-Based Preventive Parenting Intervention for at-Risk Infants and Their Families: An Open Trial

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and initial outcome of a home-based adaptation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for at-risk infants with externalizing behavior problems. Seven 12- to 15-month-old infants and their families were recruited at a large pediatric primary care clinic to participate in a home-based parenting intervention to prevent subsequent externalizing behavior problems. Home-based assessments were conducted at baseline, postintervention, and a 4- to 6-month follow-up. Six of the 7 (86%) families completed the intervention, and all completers reported high satisfaction with the intervention. All of the mothers demonstrated significant improvements and statistically reliable changes in their interactions with their infant, and most reported clinically significant and statistically reliable changes in infant behavior problems. The current study provides preliminary support for the use of this brief, home-based parenting intervention in addressing behavior problems as early as possible to improve access to an intervention for at-risk infants and their families. Successes and challenges with the development and implementation of this intervention are discussed along with directions for future research and clinical practice.

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy as a Family-Focused Approach for Young Children with Traumatic Brain Injury

“…The second part of the screening involved the primary caregiver completing a two-subtest cognitive screening measure. Consistent with previous PCIT research (Bagner, Rodríguez, Blake, & Rosa-Olivares, 2013) and to ensure the ability of the parent to learn the skills, the primary caregiver had to receive an estimated IQ score ≥ 70 on the two-subtest (Vocabulary and Matrix Reasoning) Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI; Wechsler, 1997) for mothers speaking English or an average standard score ≥ 4 (two standard deviations below the mean) on the Vocabulary and Matrix Reasoning subtests of the Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler Para Adultos-Third Edition (EIWA-III; , the Spanish version of the WAIS (Wechsler, 1997), for mothers speaking Spanish.…”

Behavioral Parent Training in Infancy: A Window of Opportunity for High-Risk Families

“…Similar to standard PCIT, the adaptation involves actively coaching parents to follow their infant’s lead in play in an effort to decrease disruptive (e.g., hitting) and increase prosocial (e.g., gentle touch) behaviors. An open trial provided promising findings on the feasibility and initial outcome of infant and parent behavior (Bagner, Rodríguez, Blake, & Rosa-Olivares, 2013). In the current randomized controlled trial, we hypothesized that relative to infants receiving standard pediatric primary care, infants receiving the home-based intervention would demonstrate higher levels of observed infant compliance to parental commands at a 6-month follow-up and decreases in infant behavior problems across an 8-month period (baseline, post-intervention, and 3- and 6-month follow-ups).…”

Behavioral Parent Training in Infancy: What About the Parent–Infant Relationship?

“…Despite strong evidence for BPT in improving child outcomes, research has identified high-risk families with the greatest need benefit the least from BPT (Lundahl, Risser, & Lovejoy, 2006). Thus, research has increasingly focused on expanding the reach of these programs to high-risk families, such as families from underrepresented ethnic and racial minority groups and low-income backgrounds (Bagner, Rodríguez, Blake, & Rosa-Olivares, 2013; McCabe, Yeh, Lau, & Argote, 2012) and families with a child with and at risk for developmental delay (Bagner & Eyberg, 2007; McIntyre, 2008). Although BPT demonstrates efficacy and shows promise in reaching high-risk families, research examining the underlying theoretical assumptions of BPT is limited.…”